Welcome to IBWC Newsline Welcome to the first edition of the IBWC Newsline!

In an effort to keep federal, state, local partners, as well as other stakeholders, informed on our

agency’s activities, I have asked the Foreign Affairs Office to compile and distribute a quarterly elec-tronic newsletter that shares events. I hope that you will find this e-newsletter informative and that it

will provide you with an insight into the many activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). Please feel free to forward this e-

newsletter to your colleagues and co-workers. We would appreciate your feedback.

Sincerely,

Edward Drusina, PE Commissioner

Safety of Dam Inspec-

tions

2

Proposed AAC Turnout

Project

2

Site Visit to Morelos

Dam

3

A Binational Review of

Wellton-Mohawk By-

pass Drain

3

Yuma Desalting Plant 3

Data Exchange Meeting

in Mercedes

4

Binational Technical

Group Salinity Meeting

4

New Equipment on the

Colorado River

5

Elevation Surveys in

Yuma

5

Commissioner Drus-

ina gives Keynote

5

Ceremony Marks Com-

pletion of International

Treatment Plant Up-

6

FAO International Visi-

tors

7

Inside

this

issue:

June 1, 2011

Issue 1

www.ibwc.gov

2011 Binational Border Sanitation and

Water Quality Summit

Both Sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission organized the 2011 Binational

Border Sanitation and Water Quality Summit held earlier this year in San Antonio, Texas. The Grand Hyatt San Antonio-Riverwalk Hotel hosted this important event which included a historical exhibit of

the IBWC which was on display at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico, entitled Maps, Minutes, and

Monuments: History of the Boundary Line, 1848-2011.

Topics covered during the Summit included: Current State of Border Sanitation and Border Water

Quality; State of the Art Sanitation Technology; State of Financing for Border Sanitation and Water

Quality; as well as sixteen breakout sessions on these topics. Experts from the private and public sec-tors spoke on important Sanitation and Water Quality issues and participated in drafting recommenda-

tions and conclusions.

Newsline International Boundary and Water Commission

United States and Mexico

United States Section

Est. 1889

As per federal guidelines for dam safety, it is a require-ment that the agency’s dam structures be inspected and

evaluated every 5 years. This year, a team of technical advisors from both Sections of the IBWC performed

the joint 5-year inspection for the following structures: 1) Morelos Dam, 2) Anzalduas Dam, and 3) Retamal

Dam. The technical advisors from CONAGUA, and

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided mechani-cal, electrical, geotechnical, and structural engineers

for the inspection. Engineers Luis Hernandez and Aldo Garcia from the U.S. and Mexican Sections, respec-

tively, orchestrated the planning and guided the 5-year

inspections for each dam.

The technical advisors applied a risk-based Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) rating that is currently being used by the USACE in their dam safety

program. The joint Technical Advisors placed each dam into a DSAC, based on their individual dam

safety risk considered as probability of failure and potential consequences. These ratings allow for the

Agency to focus, address, and fund the most important dam safety issues. In general, the inspections revealed

that all the dams are being well maintained and are able to function during flood operations. The DSAC

ratings for the dams did not change from the previous ratings.

Amistad, Falcon, and International Dams are sched-

uled to be inspected in 2012.

A binational site visit was held on April 12 at the termi-

nus of the All-American Canal (AAC). Participants included both sections of IBWC (Yuma/Mexicali of-

fices), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Yuma office, Impe-rial Irrigation District, Comisión Estatal del Agua and

CONAGUA. The group reviewed project maps pro-vided by Mexico and confirmed the location of a pro-

posed turnout project at the end of the AAC, where

Mexico could potentially take water deliveries on an

emergency basis.

5-Year Safety of Dams Inspections

Proposed AAC Turnout Project

Page 2 Newsl ine Issue 1

5 Year Inspections carried

out between March 23

and April 1, 2011

All-American Canal

A Binational Review of Operation and Maintenance of

the 34.7 miles of bypass drain in Mexico was carried out on April 13. Participants included engineers and

technical staff from both sections of the IBWC, CONAGUA and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The

drain is operated and maintained by Mexico and funded by the Department of Interior, U.S. Bureau of

Reclamation under a Memorandum of Understanding

dated Aug 6, 1975. Engineer and technical staff con-

duct this review every 5 to 6 years.

A Binational Review of Wellton-Mohawk

Bypass Drain

Page 3 Newsl ine Issue 1

Yuma Field Office

Site Visit to Morelos Dam

Mexican Section Engineer Francisco Bernal provided a tour of Morelos Dam to Cocopah Indian Tribes’

Director of Environmental Protection Office (EPO), Kevin Conrad and and Kendra Morton, EPO Tech on

April 14. Engineer Bernal provided an overview of how Morelos Dam operates and when/how the water

will flow into the Colorado River Limitrophe when the

gates are opened.

On March 26, 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation achieved another milestone for the Pilot Run of the

Yuma Desalting Plant. As scheduled they stopped operating the reverse osmosis portion of the plant and

commenced shut down activities. Production water discharged into the Colorado River was 30,495 AF

(22,685 AF of product water and 7,830 AF of blend

water).

Yuma Desalting Plant

Personnel from the National Weather Service (NWS)

West Gulf River Forecast Center (RFC) and Browns-ville Weather Forecast Office met with staff from both

Sections of the IBWC, CONAGUA, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday,

April 15, 2011 to discuss ways to improve data ex-change between the agencies in both countries. The

NWS and IBWC have been pursuing an initiative to

improve data exchange for some time now which pre-viously led to an automation and conversion to Stan-

dard Hydrological Exchange Format of the IBWC daily hydromet reports. The focus of the meeting was

to discuss ways to automate the reservoir and precipi-tation information gathered and distributed by CONA-

GUA. During the meeting, CONAGUA displayed the daily bulletins, containing precipitation obser-

vations and reservoir levels and discharges, which are published on their web pages.

In the short term, West Gulf RFC can access these published bulletins to gather data. A longer term

solution discussed at the meeting was the development of a data warehouse hosted by IBWC. Agen-cies in both countries could both place and retrieve data through this warehouse. The idea of using a

common format for data was discussed and agreed upon, with SHEF format being a likely common format, as CONAGUA already publishes some of its information in SHEF format. CONAGUA re-

quested that the NWS place precipitation and river data for U.S. tributaries of the Rio Grande in this data warehouse for use in their developing river forecast services for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. A

follow up meeting was tentatively planned for the week of June 13. At this meeting, reservoir opera-tions and coordination between CONAGUA and IBWC will be discussed in addition to the develop-

ment of the data warehouse at USIBWC Headquarters.

Binational Technical Data Exchange

Meeting in Mercedes, Texas

Page 4 Newsl ine Issue 1

Binational Technical Group Salinity

Meeting

A technical group salinity meeting was held at the Bureau of Reclamation Yuma Area Office. Partici-

pants included, from the IBWC: Gilbert Anaya, Anna Morales; Adriana Resendez, Francisco Bernal, Juan

Riosmoreno; from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Ed Virden, Hong DeCorse, Wayne Johnson; and from

CONAGUA: Carlos Van Dyck, Jorge Soto, Yissel

Gerardo, Antonio Espinoza, and Jose Telles.

The group finalized the conclusions and recommenda-

tions from a binational study conducted in 2006-2007. The next actions for the group were discussed, such as

lab site visits for both countries and continued third

party independent lab analysis.

A long term solution

discussed was the

development of a data

warehouse hosted by IBWC

Robert Cardenas, U.S. Section Hydrologic Technician,

provided assistance to Alenzue Angulo, of the Mexican Section’s Mexicali Office on the use of their new Rio

Grande Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) method for measuring discharge on the Colorado

River. The ADCP is a system designed to operate from a moving boat and is considered more productive, di-

verse and cost effective with high-quality data meas-

urements. The orange floating device seen in the photo

is the Rio Grande-ADCP.

Commissioner Drusina was invited to give the keynote address at the Sustainability on the Border:

Water, Climate, and Social Change in a Fragile Landscape conference on May 17, 2011 at the Uni-

versity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The conference was organized by UTEP’s Center for Environ-

mental Resource Management and funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The purpose of the conference was to summarize science related to water sustainability under climate

and social change on the U.S.-Mexico border along the lower New Mexico-West Texas segment of the

Rio Grande. In his address, Commissioner Drusina

spoke about the challenges of water sustainability on

the border and the role, responsibilities and current

projects and accomplishments of the Commission.

Mexican Commissioner Robert F. Salmon was also

invited to speak however he was not able to attend. In

attendance were UTEP faculty, researchers, and stu-

dents. The conference began with Welcome Remarks

by Dr. Diana Natalicio, President of UTEP, and Wil-

liam Hargrove, Director of UTEP’s Center for Envi-

ronmental Resource Management.

New Equipment on the Colorado River

U.S. Commissioner Edward Drusina gives

Keynote Address

Page 5 Newsl ine Issue 1

Elevation Surveys in Yuma

On May 4, 2011 both Sections of the IBWC coordi-

nated with the Imperial Irrigation District and the Co-misión Estatal del Agua, Mexicali, BC to conduct ele-

vation surveys at the tentative site for the proposed

Mexican All-American Canal Turnout structure.

IBWC at UTEP

Officials from the United States and Mexico held a

ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 13, at the South

Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant

(SBIWTP) in San Diego, California to mark the recent upgrade of the plant to secondary treatment

standards. The SBIWTP, owned and operated by

the U.S. Section of the IBWC, treats wastewater

originating in Tijuana, Mexico.

Construction of the upgrade began in January 2009.

The contract, totaling $92.7 million, covered con-

struction of an activated sludge secondary treatment

process at the SBIWTP to improve effluent quality. The plant had been providing advanced pri-

mary treatment since that phase of the construction was completed in 1997. The treated effluent

is discharged 3.5 miles offshore into the Pacific Ocean.

The wastewater treatment plant upgrade, which doubles the original plant footprint, was con-

structed in accordance with agreements with Mexico that call for activated sludge secondary

treatment facilities in the U.S. to treat up to 25 million gallons per day of sewage from Tijuana,

BC. In accordance with those agreements, Mexico paid for a portion of the plant’s original con-

struction cost and contributes to ongoing operation and maintenance costs.

“The plant we are celebrating today provides a higher level of treatment than the original plant.

For those of us who care about the environment and the quality of our coastal waters, we have

reason to celebrate this milestone,” said U.S. Commissioner Edward Drusina of the IBWC.

Mexican Commissioner Roberto Salmon indicated

that this upgrade fully complies with the agreements

established in IBWC Minute No. 283 by achieving

secondary treatment as originally planned, providing

water treated to a higher quality with a great poten-

tial for reuse in Mexico when needed. The upgrade

is designed to comply with water quality standards

applicable in the U.S. for total suspended solids,

biochemical oxygen demand, and impacts on certain

microorganisms. Governor of Baja California, Gua-

dalupe Osuna Millan also attended the ceremony and made remarks.

Ceremony Marks Completion of

International Treatment Plant Upgrade

Page 6 Newslet t er T it le Issue 1

SBIWTP upgrades

completed to meet secondary

treatment standards

Central Asia

FAO International Visitors

4171 North Mesa

Bldg C-100

El Paso, Texas

79902

IBWC Newsline

On January 21, 2011, IBWC’s Foreign Affairs Office received a

group with participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan focused on water

resources management. This group was interested in examining

water resources management at the federal, state and local lev-

els; international, trans-boundary and interstate water manage-

ment; national and international water conventions, land recla-

mations and laws; best practices in water conservation; control,

purification and distribution of drinking water; the role of public

-private partnerships and grassroots groups in addressing water

issues; irrigation technologies; methods to address water scar-

city, especially for agricultural use; and financial aspects of

water use and management.

Phone: 915-832-4100

Fax: 915-832-4190

E-mail: adolfo.mata@ibwc.gov

International Boundary and Water Commission

United States and Mexico

United States Section

The IBWC Foreign Affairs Office periodically receives visitors who are invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of

State's International Visitor Leadership Program. Their program is arranged by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Locally these

groups are coordinated by the El Paso Council for International Visitors.

www.ibwc.gov

Pakistan On March 10, 2011 a Pakistani Group focused on Water Supply and

Management visited IBWC Headquarters. This groups was inter-

ested in examining water resources management at the federal, state

and local levels; discussing best practices in water conservation,

flood management and methods to address water scarcity; exploring

irrigation technologies and management of ground water usage for

agriculture and its financial aspects; learning about Native American

water rights, environmental education and communication; analyzing

the role of public-private partnerships and grassroots groups in ad-

dressing water issues; and looking at water disputes and their adjudi-

cation.

North Africa and the

Middle East On March 28, 2011

USIBWC received a

Conflict Resolution

Group focused on a

Regional Project for

North Africa and the

Middle East. Par-

ticipants were from

Algeria, Iraq, Mo-

rocco, Palestinian

Terri tories and

Yemen.

Multiregional Environmental

Group

A Multi-Regional

Environmental Pro-

tection and Biodiver-

sity Conservation

Group visited IBWC

on April 13, 2011

with participants

from Afghanistan,

Bolivia, Burma, Eri-

trea, Germany, and

Israel.